Sooonar

Sooonar is a recognition platform for Indian jewellery designers. Built like an editorial publication — slow, curated, written. The premise is that India has world-class jewellery talent, scattered across a thousand workshops, and that the work deserves the kind of platform that says here’s the work, here’s the maker, here’s why it matters.

What it does

Every Tuesday at 11 AM IST, one designer is named Designer of the Week. Editors pick from a pool of submissions; the curator writes a thesis-sized note about why. That winner is featured for seven days, archived permanently, and considered for Designer of the Month at month-end.

Around that spine, designers get portfolios with provenance-stamped pieces, a clan-based feed, communities, DMs gated like LinkedIn (you can be approachable without being spammable), and an Academy with practising instructors.

Who built it

Sooonar is built by Upamanyu Naskar, a designer who looked at every existing platform and didn’t find one that respected the work. The brand draws from Awwwards-grade editorial design — serif headlines, cream paper, asymmetric layouts, no carousels.

Where it’s going

Stage 1 is the weekly cycle, the portfolio, the directory, and the editorial spine. Stage 2 adds Academy video, the Reference library, the Journal, and an annual Designer of the Year award. After that, Originals (long-form video), commerce for limited editions, and a physical exhibition tied to the annual cover.

Read the ethics page for what we will and won’t do.